Phil Schiller Says iPad Pro Can Both Supplement and Replace the Mac

[Soccertess]

this is the funnest thing ever! this is some tim cook poo poo coming out of his mouth

Maybe that is why Apple handicaps their macbook, so that it doesn't completely destroy the ipad air.

 

[DNichter]

To add on, what the haters here need to realise is that this isn't a binary situation. No one is holding a gun to my head and forcing me to give up my Mac in exchange for using the iPad, nor is the iPad necessarily a crippled device just because it cannot yet replace my Mac 100%. Each has its place in my life, and I am happily using all my Apple products.

Case in point - I own an iPhone, iPad Pro, MacBook Air and iMac. At home, I use my iMac to help prepare my work-related documents for use on my iPad. At work, I use my iPad to teach in the classroom and my MacBook Air for work that requires a conventional PC. I do have a work-issued windows touchscreen computer, but I use that mainly for accessing my network drives and printing documents. I don't use my iPad to create google forms, just as I don't walk around my class with MacBook Air in hand trying to annotate on pdf documents.

Every now and then, I uncover a new workflow which lets me do something on my iOS devices that I couldn't do before (such as automating a previously cumbersome task via workflow), but otherwise, I don't force myself to use my iPad for tasks I know it isn't suitable for. Having used the iPad for such a purpose since 2012, I will say that iPad productivity has come a very long way. And it says a lot that we have moved on from general statements (eg: the iPad can't multitask) to extremely specific and niche use cases (the iPad can't run linux) which really impact like what - 1% of users?

Likewise, the majority of the tasks people here are saying the iPad cannot do, I have absolutely no idea what they are. So I can't access Terminal, or develop iOS apps? I suppose that might be a cause for concern, if I needed to perform those tasks in the first place. I think the posters here also need to realise that their needs aren't really representative of the general consumer at large, and stop acting like their needs are the be-all and end-all of what makes a pro computer.

Wake up, people. The iPad may not be something you personally can use instead of a laptop, but let’s not confuse that with the fact that the iPad is a powerful computer that maybe, just maybe, can exist as an alternative to what’s out there instead of a straight replacement.

Well said. It’s great we have both options. Although I question/wonder where macOS is headed in the future. The iPad is just another choice of computer, just as the MacBook and iMac are. Use what works for you.

 

[DeepIn2U]

There are a few important things which are not technical, but Apple Policy that is preventing people to use iPad as laptop replacements.
1. Application Walled garden: For my phone and dedicated mobile devices, this isn't a big deal as the large number of apps do what I would on the device. However on my Laptop I will want to do some more computational things, such as programming, system administration, and working with new software.

2. Single User interface: I may want to share the device with others with different settings and history. Also I sometimes make myself different accounts to test different things.

3. Long term support for apps: I have a handful of apps which will not work in iOS 11. I don't know why and I don't care, If I downloaded them and paid for them I should be able to use them.

There are also some technical reasons such as long high CPU usage. Speed and upgradability.

Multi user support was cried for years ago on Android and granted in 3.1 for tablet and 4.0 for smartphones. I’m curious just how often it’s used on that platform anymore?

I’m sure Apple considered this and then realize just had none personal device becomes when you do share it with another person, it affects sales.

And this is exactly why the iPad will always be a deal breaker for my parents.

Depending on the age of your parents how long they been using computers I thought the premise will be the other way around?

 

[Cloudkicker]

Why not...

The moment Google asks you about the quality of the Brothel you just went in, you will regret your decision.

Fine. Spend a minimum $5000 for a 27" iMac Pro w/ last year's Bluetooth, that fugly biga** chin/forehead bezel (painted space grey; ooh!!!) & lack of "courage" because it still has a standard headphone jack.

lol Dude, if Google is a brothel, then Apple is just a *********.

Three's Company episode when Chrissy's old friend from high school visits, & Janet discovers that friend is now a *********. Janet mistakeningly calls her a 'hooker', to which the friend takes offense to. Janet asks whats the difference. The friend says: (smirking) "Hookers don't drive Ferraris."

So you keep the Apple-users-are-elitists MYTH/FACT debate going calling Google a filthy brothel, while Apple does the same thing to get its customers off (!), only at tripple the price & frillier window dressing.

Enjoy getting your whistle wet & your pockets picked faster, while going longer & longer between encounters. lol $5k for a minimum spec 27", non-user-serviced iMac 'Pro'.

 

[riverfreak]

Can I do graphic design work on it in Photoshop? Didn't think so.

Actually there are fantastic tools for graphic work, including a touch-specific version of photoshop that works really well. I use Adobe Sketch for lightweight drawing coupled with an Apple Pencil, too.

 

[pika2000]

The interpretation of the the ad is way off. The point off the ad is that the kid is challenging the classic paradigm of what a computer is, not saying that an iPad is not a computer.

There will be those who continue to scoff off the iPad as a computing device. Yet in the emerging market, many people’s computing experience was from nothing to smartphones, bypassing the PC altogether. And let’s not forget that these markets are where the growth will be. Apple is equipping itself with high performing mobile chips and lower cost iPads.
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Can I do graphic design work on it in Photoshop? Didn't think so.

I think a more apt question is: “Can I install a pirated Photoshop on an iPad?”
There are plenty of photoshop alternatives for the iPad if one actually look.

 

[Mimiron]

Supplement ok. Replace never, nada, well not unless both Macs and iPads run on a singular system (macOS). So the tablet's like 900 EUR, pencil is 100 EUR, keyboard is 100 EUR. There, we're at 1100 EUR for an oversized iPhone that should supposedly replace a computer. Just go with the Macbook Pro if you want to be productive and you'll have an awesome device. In terms of productivity I'm not obviously talking about browsing Facebook or buying stuff on Amazon. Shiller is mad, but you can't blame him, it's his job to say all the nice things, he's on the marketing team after all.

TL;DR: iPad is a niche product, but definitely not a Macbook replacement.

 

[ColdShadow]

Well I hate to break it to you, but it absolutely can. I use only an iPad Pro and an iPhone X for all my computing needs, work included.

well it depends what your computing needs are..and how serious you are about it I guess..
file management is an absolute basic aspect of computing and it’s pretty much non existent in iOS.heck you can’t even send /receive proper email and attachments with it.
website incompatibility,many compromises here and there..it’s just like using a toy for real job.

if Apple abandons Mac,I will happily switch back to Windows.Mac is the real reason I stick to iOS too.without Mac I won’t have interest in Apple products anymore.

 

[GuruZac]

So, you fit just fine with the iPad where you are mostly using the office apps, did I understand correctly?
Sadly, it does not do any engineering work for me even for my undergrad classes, let alone the grad courses.

I do understand your point. And I believe that certainly in use-cases such as yours, the iPad Pro is not a replacement. It’s not totally for me. This whole thread, however, has turned into a ‘iPads can’t do this therefore they are not Mac replacements...’ when in fact, Phil never stated they were replacements for all people. I think this thread has quite frankly gone off the rails. People are bashing the iPad Pro because they can’t run certain programming or gaming software...which likely represents less than 5% of total MacBook sales. For the remainder of the buyers, iPad Pros can replace most of what people are using computers now days for anyway.

 

[PickUrPoison]

The future of the Mac is iPad.

No, the future of the Mac is better, faster and more capable Macs.

The future of the iPad is better, faster, more capable iPads.

 

[DNichter]

well it depends what your computing needs are..and how serious you are about it I guess..
file management is an absolute basic aspect of computing and it’s pretty much non existent in iOS.heck you can’t even send /receive proper email and attachments with it.
website incompatibility,many compromises here and there..it’s just like using a toy for real job.

I’ve used Documents for file management for years, works better than Finder for me. Safari works great for the web also. You’re right though, depends on the individuals needs, but definitely possible to use “toys” for work. My company must hate paying me so much to use toys on the job.

 

[npmacuser5]

Mac and iPad compliment each other. Too many holes in the iPad Apps that would prevent it replacing the Mac. The iPad drives me nuts with things like adding information to webpage forms. Many cases fails miserably, especially with credit card data for some reason. The list goes on to mail attachments etc. If I could only choose one, Mac would win.

 

[sunwukong]

Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller believes the iPad Pro can be both a PC replacement and a supplementary device to the Mac.

Ok, how does he feel about my meager salary replacing his salary? They are both currency, yes? Can buy things with it, right? Also mine is a LOT THINNER, so that has to be better, right?

 

[Michael Goff]

Fine. Spend a minimum $5000 for a 27" iMac Pro w/ last year's Bluetooth, that fugly biga** chin/forehead bezel (painted space grey; ooh!!!) & lack of "courage" because it still has a standard headphone jack.

lol Dude, if Google is a brothel, then Apple is just a *********.

Three's Company episode when Chrissy's old friend from high school visits, & Janet discovers that friend is now a *********. Janet mistakeningly calls her a 'hooker', to which the friend takes offense to. Janet asks whats the difference. The friend says: (smirking) "Hookers don't drive Ferraris."

So you keep the Apple-users-are-elitists MYTH/FACT debate going calling Google a filthy brothel, while Apple does the same thing to get its customers off (!), only at tripple the price & frillier window dressing.

Enjoy getting your whistle wet & your pockets picked faster, while going longer & longer between encounters. lol $5k for a minimum spec 27", non-user-serviced iMac 'Pro'.

They didn’t say Google was a brothel. They insinuated that Google would track you when you go into a brothel.
[doublepost=1513128382][/doublepost]

No, the future of the Mac is better, faster and more capable Macs.

The future of the iPad is better, faster, more capable iPads.

The best part of the future is people can choose what works best for them.

 

[sunwukong]

Sorry Phil, the iPad cannot hold a candle to the Mac. Two total different devices.
While I can do some "work" on the iPad. As a graphics designer the Mac is the king. No discussion there.

Right? And I can't see anyone doing VR, etc., on any kind of iPad, regardless of whether or not you tack 'Pro' on the end. Software development, computationally intense programs. Ok, maybe they mean 'for most people'.

 

[ColdShadow]

I’ve used Documents for file management for years, works better than Finder for me. Safari works great for the web also. You’re right though, depends on the individuals needs, but definitely possible to use “toys” for work. My company must hate paying me so much to use toys on the job.

That works for you cool.
But I even prefer 12” Macbook to iPad for basic things like typing emails attaching files and creating invoices,heck even for web browsing.

That Document App I have,but it’s awkward to use and almost like cheating it to do your task..another example of importance of file management that is missing..

For me it’s Mac all the way,I sold my iPad Pro when they failed to deliver with that falsely advertised Files app and I haven’t missed it a bit.(had various iPads before Pro too)

I have 12” Macbook for casual use at home,iPhone X for outside use and iMac at work.
Also a Samsung Windows 10 hybrid just in case..

The 12” Macbook is pretty much same size and weight as iPad Pro,but literally 100 times more versatile,more capable and more functional.

 

[GuruZac]

For those complaining about the cost of iPad Pro with Pencil etc, and I am one of those who they are overpriced, you guys should be equally complaining the iPhone X is $1150. There’s no reason any iPhone should cost more than the iPad Pro. Less RAM and Storage, no 120HZ display, less GPU performance, no ability to use a stylus type device. Heck, my 256GB iPad Pro 10.5 with the pencil and Apple Care was less expensive than the 256GB iPhone 8 Plus.

 

[Abazigal]

Well said. It’s great we have both options. Although I question/wonder where macOS is headed in the future. The iPad is just another choice of computer, just as the MacBook and iMac are. Use what works for you.

I think it will become more like iOS and iOS devices in that Macs become more personal. So expect more enhancements that go beyond mere spec boosts. That’s pretty much the Apple design loop that Phil Schiller was talking about.

https://medium.com/backchannel/excl...ill-sweating-the-details-on-imac-531a95e50c91

Schiller, in fact, has a grand philosophical theory of the Apple product line that puts all products on a continuum. Ideally, you should be using the smallest possible gadget to do as much as possible before going to the next largest gizmo in line.

So iPads will get design cues from the Mac, and so on and so forth.

 

[richpjr]

I use this pointer on my iPad Pro and it works great.

Try and write a long document using an ASK while constantly reaching up to touch the screen and you'll quickly realize it is an ergonomic nightmare that could easily be solved with a mouse.

 

[Larry-K]

Phil's said a lot of things.

I don't recall any being true.

 

[Altis]

The flip mentality is people who can use the iPad as their only, or primary device do simple work that can be done on ancient computers.

So I don't like those broad statements, because while you are correct, it paints a broad brush and assumes the inability to those things are important to all people.

Can I do everything I can on my Mac on my iPad? No. That doesn't negate the iPad since the primary, non-day job work I do is drawing and writing. I find the iPad more conducive to those tasks. Procreate is an amazing app, as is Affinity Photo. While Ulysses is close to feature complete between the two OSs, at this point my muscle memory is better on iOS for a lot of tasks.

I can even do a lot of my day job on the iPad. Even those of us who create output as part of our jobs don't usually spend 8 hours a day creating that output. I've got two documents I need to do this week, and I've probably spent about 2 hours working on them. Why? Meetings after meetings after meetings. The iPad is great for taking notes on, or dealing with emails, and the general day to day minutia that wears down life in corporations. Even with how half-featured Word is on the iPad I could still get a lot of my documents done on the iPad.

I don't often find myself needing to get into the Terminal, or attach a USB storage device, or rip a CD into iTunes. I don't like printing out paper that is just going to get tossed into a recycle bin after the meeting. I don't want to get too far down that rabbit hole since it is easy to move the goalposts on both sides.

If those types of things, and other things you need a Mac for are tasks people do every day, well, Apple still makes the Mac and will for a while.

I'm not sure if you caught but in a post I did make the exception for pen/drawing as that's something the iPad excels at -- although there's tons of Windows products that are also good at that without making sacrifices. Personally, I'd rather be able to have the tablet as a canvas but a large monitor connected to view the full image.

I don't think it's unfair to say that people who can get by entirely on an iPad could get by on computers made since 2007 (not netbooks but desktops).

A 2007 PC with a quad-core Q6600 and an SSD with the latest Windows 10 could run pretty well any modern software without much issue, though obviously the upper echelon of performance wouldn't be there (ie. 4k video editing). But there's not much that it wouldn't be able to do, and there's plenty they could do that an iPad couldn't.

The iPad to me is like a scooter to a van. There are instances where the scooter is all you need, and some cases where it's better. But the van can do pretty much everything and then a huge number of additional things, while also being arguably more ergonomic and practical

I wouldn't make it 5 minutes into my day with an iPad though since I'm in Engineering. Can't even view WileyPlus textbook materials on the iPad, let alone any SPICE work!

 

[Brammy]

Try and write a long document using an ASK while constantly reaching up to touch the screen and you'll quickly realize it is an ergonomic nightmare that could easily be solved with a mouse.

I do this all the time, actually. The keyboard commands are handy.
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The iPad to me is like a scooter to a van. There are instances where the scooter is all you need, and some cases where it's better. But the van can do pretty much everything and then a huge number of additional things, while also being arguably more ergonomic and practical

The analogy I like to use is a nice little two-seater to my SUV.

A guy at work drives a little two seater. Great car. Gets him from place to place, and with a little bit of style. It can't do all my SUV can, like haul a bunch of stuff and it probably sucks in our winters. But it works for him. I kinda view that little car as my iPad Pro.

Sure, my SUV can do more, but if those things aren't things he cares about, less is more for him.

In your case, doing Engineering work, yep. iPad is hard to use. Heck, even at my day job I can't do everything I need on macOS and need Windows.

 

[QuarterSwede]

My phone is my primary computing device lol.

It is for most people. Have you seen the analytics for website visits by platform? It’s mobile first by a wide margin. Desktops barely register anymore.

 

[sorinel999]

Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller believes the iPad Pro can be both a PC replacement and a supplementary device to the Mac.

In a wide-ranging interview with T3 about the iPad Pro and other Apple products, including the iPhone X, iMac Pro, HomePod, and AirPods, Schiller said the iPad Pro's exact use case ultimately varies by customer.Schiller added that, for many customers, the iPad Pro becomes their primary computing device, especially while traveling.Schiller acknowledged that this isn't the case for everyone, as some customers may only use an iPad Pro for certain tasks where a tablet can provide a better experience, such as reading or watching movie and TV shows.Schiller referred to the iPad Pro as a computer on a few occasions, which contrasts with Apple's latest "What's a Computer?" ad for the tablet.

At the end of the video, a mother asks her young daughter "what are you doing on your computer?" and the daughter responds by asking "what's a computer?" to imply that the iPad Pro is not a computer.

While the ad might suggest Apple's increasing focus on the iPad over the Mac, Schiller ensured that the company "cares deeply" about its pro customers. "We love that so much is created on Mac," he said.

To address the needs of those professionals, Apple is launching a powerful iMac Pro this week. The company is also working on a modular Mac Pro that will be accompanied by Apple-branded pro displays.

Interview: Apple's Phil Schiller on How the iPhone X 'Seemed Impossible at the Start'

Article Link: Phil Schiller Says iPad Pro Can Both Supplement and Replace the Mac

[doublepost=1513131473][/doublepost]Without mouse support this isn't a computer.

 

[jujufreeze]

I do understand your point. And I believe that certainly in use-cases such as yours, the iPad Pro is not a replacement. It’s not totally for me. This whole thread, however, has turned into a ‘iPads can’t do this therefore they are not Mac replacements...’ when in fact, Phil never stated they were replacements for all people. I think this thread has quite frankly gone off the rails. People are bashing the iPad Pro because they can’t run certain programming or gaming software...which likely represents less than 5% of total MacBook sales. For the remainder of the buyers, iPad Pros can replace most of what people are using computers now days for anyway.

People who use machines with a file management system, plug in usb drives, use a mouse, have preview and finder, background multi-tasking, use desktop-grade software beyond spoon-fed apps are basically playing 8-dimensional chess. ipad "Pro" users don't need such antiquated, sophisticated solutions to enhance their workflow.